Punchy Pickups

[espdna]

Looking to switch out the bridge pickup in my les paul classic. it's pretty bright for a les paul. i like punchy pickups, where the notes just seem like they fly off the strings. I was looking at the MCP Afwayu but I thought i'd get some opinions and check them out. Any help would be appriciated. Thanks.

 

[fearhk213]

The MCP Hothead did just that in my Bartlett Retrospec, which is in the LP camp. Individual notes are big & bold, but it still tracks very well because of its tightness.

 

[fusedbrain]

Big MCP fan here.
I have them in a bunch of different guitars, including a couple Afwayu's.
My take on the Afwayu is that it's definately a big and punchy pickup. I have one in the bridge of an SG and it's superb.
But......I have 3 Les Pauls, but only kept an Afwayu in one of them. The bottom end was too much in the other 2. It wasn't that it wasn't tight per se, but just too much vs the other frequencies if you know what I mean.
The Les Paul that still has the Afwayu is the brightest one for sure. Non chambered, and has an extra thick maple top when you look at the inside of the bridge pu route.
The other 2 Paul's have 2nd degree Black Belts and Detroiter's. The 2nd degree BB's are more PAF-ish and the Detroiter's are a little hotter with more snarl, but might not be hot enough, depending on what your looking for.
Haven't tried any other MCP's yet cause I'm kind of addicted to the 2nd degree BB's, but I do have a set of T-Wrecks on order

Not sure what type of tones your going for, but I mostly use the 2 Afwayu loaded guitars with my EVH stealth, Fortin Cali Mod 800, and Bogner Twin Jet when I'm going for really heavy type tones. The Afwayu loaded SG also sounds really good with a rather bright 50watt plexi clone I built.

If your buying new, email Wade and ask him what he thinks. His recommendations are usually spot on.
If your buying used, I say go for it and try the Afwayu.
Especialy if you have a brighter Les Paul. If it doesn't work out, you can always flip it for what you paid for it.

Hope that helps, and good luck with your search!!

 

[halebox]

AFWAYU is a great pickup but doesnt always work in a paul (didnt quite work in my 93 classic but was great in another paul) but worth getting to try. My favorite paul has a wcr godwood. I just put a wilde L500xl in my 93 classic and Im digging it. Duncan JB can be cool too.

 

[the rossness]

Dimarzio AT1

 

[Ventura]

What amp(s) and what style of music??

 

[mooncobra]

Duncan super v, lynch sig pup, don't think its made anymore, but I bet the custom shop would make one for you. very punchy, tight, and articulate pickup!!

 

[Devilinside]

BK painkiller

 

[Ventura]

Never got a response regarding your amps or musical preferences, but the best punchy pickup I have currently installed in any of my Lesters (of which I have several) are the BlackDogs. The BDs work well with a variety of amps, aren't "too" high output that they screw with a high-gain amp's tone; and are super middy, punchy and articulate. The first thing I noticed and continue to think whenever I plug this guitar in is "wow, my dogs have got teeth!!", and that's really what it's all about. They bite, sound great cleaned up, sound great pushed and driven, and this going into all sorts of channel changers and high-gain heads.

Bareknuckle Pickups Black Dogs. Check them out: https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/p ... =black_dog

And no, clips don't do them justice - nothing on "youtube" or the like really does. Just trust me, they're fucking great (and I own Emeralds, Mules, RiffRaffs, Painkillers, MiracleMans, HolyDivers, and a couple others.... I kinda like Tim's pups )

Peace
Mo

 

[Bankrupted A Casino]

^ What styles of music do you play? Are the BD's good for metal? For the OP, if you want punchy pups where the notes really pop, try a set of Dimarzio Joe and Mo Joe's. Great for anything but metal.

 

[espdna]

currently playing the lp through a diezel lil fokker. i also have an ebmm jp6 which has the punch i'm looking for, i'm just trying to get the same punch in the lp. i play mostly hard rock and metal and i'd lean more towards a more metal tone.

 

[Mailman1971]

My vote is the dimarzio x2n. Punchiest cutting pickup I have played.

 

[Ventura]

currently playing the lp through a diezel lil fokker. i also have an ebmm jp6 which has the punch i'm looking for, i'm just trying to get the same punch in the lp. i play mostly hard rock and metal and i'd lean more towards a more metal tone.

The amp delivers the metal, the pups deliver the guitar. Simple. But do yourself one favour and stay clear from "high output pups" with a higher gain head. Overkill. And whenever you hear that bigass thick saturated heavy gain/distortion sound from your amp, remember, it'll sound like a bee-hive recorded, or lose you in the mix jamming pretty bloody quick. Gain ain't yer friend - punch and articulation are (IMHO, YMMV)

^ What styles of music do you play? Are the BD's good for metal? For the OP, if you want punchy pups where the notes really pop, try a set of Dimarzio Joe and Mo Joe's. Great for anything but metal.

I play a lot of stuff. But this guitar runs through my 20thXTC and 20thSheevs mostly; and with those amps, everything from Zep to AIC to ACDC to APC to.... It's a very versatile pup. I've run it through my high-gainers (Uberschalls, VH4, Hagen) and it sounds equally as sweet; but I tend to play [this] particular guitar for a broader range of music. It does not - however - disappoint in practically any genre of music I've ventured into with it.

 

[lowmantotempole]

I'd like to throw in my recommendation for the Perpetual Burn Jason Becker sig pickup.

I had one in my PRS Tremoti and its was extremely punchy. Great articulation and plenty of punch. Solid tight bass response and plenty of string separation.

 

[Bankrupted A Casino]

currently playing the lp through a diezel lil fokker. i also have an ebmm jp6 which has the punch i'm looking for, i'm just trying to get the same punch in the lp. i play mostly hard rock and metal and i'd lean more towards a more metal tone.

How about a set of EMG 57/66's?

 

[FourT6and2]

Diezels love pickups with a DC resistance around 9-12k. This doesn't have anything to do with how "hot" a pickup sounds.

Having owned a few Diezels, I can agree that the BKP Black Dogs are a good match. They are punchy and musical. But they are not meant for really tight, modern metal. But you can play anything you want on them really. Their mid-range is very nice. But the lows are not going to be as tight/stiff as something like a Seymour Duncan Nazgul, for example (which I would also recommend).

 

[charvelstrat81]

Dimarzio Tone Zone with a 1 meg volume pot and no tone pot hooked up
Very punchy and big and still has great clarity.
Listen to Michael RT use one in his N2 with his 68 Marshall https://youtu.be/gCbKJPJuIF0?t=3m8s

 

[s_swanson]

You might want to consider the MCP Detroiters. They're lower output than an Afwayu but hotter than you'd think and almost have a "boosted" quality to them. I thought the Afwayus were a bit dark in my LP classic.

 

[hatrick00]

Big MCP fan here.
I have them in a bunch of different guitars, including a couple Afwayu's.
My take on the Afwayu is that it's definately a big and punchy pickup. I have one in the bridge of an SG and it's superb.
But......I have 3 Les Pauls, but only kept an Afwayu in one of them. The bottom end was too much in the other 2. It wasn't that it wasn't tight per se, but just too much vs the other frequencies if you know what I mean.
The Les Paul that still has the Afwayu is the brightest one for sure. Non chambered, and has an extra thick maple top when you look at the inside of the bridge pu route.
The other 2 Paul's have 2nd degree Black Belts and Detroiter's. The 2nd degree BB's are more PAF-ish and the Detroiter's are a little hotter with more snarl, but might not be hot enough, depending on what your looking for.
Haven't tried any other MCP's yet cause I'm kind of addicted to the 2nd degree BB's, but I do have a set of T-Wrecks on order

Not sure what type of tones your going for, but I mostly use the 2 Afwayu loaded guitars with my EVH stealth, Fortin Cali Mod 800, and Bogner Twin Jet when I'm going for really heavy type tones. The Afwayu loaded SG also sounds really good with a rather bright 50watt plexi clone I built.

If your buying new, email Wade and ask him what he thinks. His recommendations are usually spot on.
If your buying used, I say go for it and try the Afwayu.
Especialy if you have a brighter Les Paul. If it doesn't work out, you can always flip it for what you paid for it.

Hope that helps, and good luck with your search!!

This man knows what's up. The Afwayu and the 2nd Degree have ended my pickup searching. And trust me I tried a bunch. If I had to pick one would be the 2nd degree (for LPs at least). Wade is a great dude and makes top notch stuff. The 2nd degree sounds sooo much hotter than the 9.2 that it reads for me. Mean and thick with tons of grind.